Thomas Aquinas Commentary Hebrews 11:13-19

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own. And if indeed they had been mindful of that [country] from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better [country], that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten [son]; even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God [is] able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back." — Hebrews 11:13-19 (ASV)

After commending Abraham’s faith regarding his dwelling place and offspring, the Apostle now commends him on his way of life until death. Regarding this, he does three things: first, he shows what Abraham did by faith; second, he mentions one thing that relates to faith (verse 14); and third, he shows what he received by faith (verse 16).

He commends the faith of Abraham and his children for its perseverance, because they persevered in the faith until death: He who perseveres to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13). Therefore, he says, These all died in faith, except for Enoch. Or, “these all” refers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the better interpretation because the promise was made only to them. Furthermore, he commends them for enduring the long delay of the promise; hence, he says, not having received what was promised.

On the other hand, it seems that they did receive the promise: Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land (Ezekiel 33:24). I answer that Abraham possessed it, that is, he was the first to receive the promise of possessing the land; yet he did not actually possess it, as is clear from Acts 7:5. He continues, seeing it and greeting it from afar by faith. This is as if to say: looking on with the vision of faith. Perhaps the responsory for the first Sunday of Advent is taken from this passage: “Behold from afar, I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth”; Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar (Isaiah 30:27).

And greeting it, that is, venerating it. According to Chrysostom, he speaks like sailors who, when they first see their port, break out in praise and greet the city they have reached. So the holy fathers, seeing by faith the coming Christ and the glory they were to obtain through Him, greeted, that is, venerated Him: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. He is God and has shone upon us (Psalms 117:26); Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day; he saw it and was glad (John 8:56).

He also commends their faith for its sincere confession, because, as it says in Romans 10:10: With the heart we believe unto justice; but with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. Hence, he says, acknowledging that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those three men called themselves strangers and pilgrims, for in Genesis 23:4 Abraham says: I am a stranger and a sojourner among you. Furthermore, the Lord says to Isaac: Stay in the land that I shall tell you, and sojourn in it (Genesis 26:2), and Jacob himself says: The days of my pilgrimage (Genesis 47:9).

Now, a pilgrim is one who is on the way to a specific place, while a sojourner is one who lives in a foreign land with no intention of going elsewhere. But they confessed to being not only sojourners but also pilgrims. Likewise, a holy person does not make his home in this world but is always occupied with journeying toward heaven: I am a stranger with you, and a sojourner as all my fathers were (Psalms 38:13).

Then, in verse 14, he shows that this confession relates to hope. For a person is a guest and a stranger only when he is outside his own country and traveling toward it. Therefore, since they confess to being guests and strangers, they show that they are heading toward their homeland, that is, the heavenly Jerusalem: But that Jerusalem which is above is free (Galatians 4:26). And this is what he says: for people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Now, someone might argue that while they were pilgrims in the land of the Philistines and Canaanites where they lived, they intended to return to the land they had left. But the Apostle refutes this, saying, If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return, because it was nearby. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Hence, in Genesis 24:6, Abraham said to his servant: Beware that you never bring my son back there again.

I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners (Psalms 83:11); One thing I have asked of the LORD, this I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life (Psalms 26:4). Therefore, they were seeking a country, but not their father’s house, which they had left. This signifies that those who leave the world’s vanity should not return to it in their minds: Forget your people and your father’s house (Psalms 44:11); No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62); forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching myself forward to the things that are before (Philippians 3:13).

It is also clear that their confessions, in both word and deed, relate to faith, because they most firmly believed until death what was promised but never shown to them. Therefore, they died in faith, that is, with faith beside them as an inseparable companion: Be faithful until death (Revelation 2:10).

Then, in verse 16, he shows what they merited to receive through their faith. This was the highest honor: when someone receives a title derived from a solemn office or from the service of a great and excellent lord or prince, such as “the Pope’s notary” or “the king’s chancellor.” But it is an even greater honor when that great lord wishes to be named after those who serve him. So it is with these three—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—whose Lord, the great King over all other gods, specifically calls Himself their God. Hence, in Exodus 3:6: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Therefore, he says, God is not ashamed to be called their God.

Three reasons can be given for this. First, because God is known by faith. But they are recorded as the first to have separated themselves from unbelievers by a special form of worship; hence, too, Abraham was the first to receive the seal of faith to become the father of many nations (Romans 4:17). Therefore, they are presented to us as an example, as those by whom God was first known, and through whom God was named as an object of faith. Therefore, He willed to be named after them.

Second, according to Augustine in a gloss, a mystery lies hidden in them. For in them we find a likeness to the way God regenerates spiritual sons. We observe in them a fourfold way of begetting children:

1. The first way is of free children by free women, as Abraham by Sarah begot Isaac, who begot Jacob by Rebecca, and Jacob the eight patriarchs by Leah and Rachel.
2. The second way was of free children through bondwomen, as Jacob begot Dan and Naphtali by Bilhah and Zilpah.
3. The third way was of servants by free women, as Isaac begot Esau by Rebecca; of him it was said, The older shall serve the younger (Genesis 25:23).
4. The fourth was of servants by bondwomen, as Abraham begot Ishmael by Hagar.

This designates the diverse ways in which the Lord begets spiritual children: sometimes the good by the good, as Timothy by Paul; sometimes the good by the wicked, which is the generation of free men by bondwomen; sometimes the wicked by the good, as Simon Magus by Philip, which is the generation of servants by free women. But the generation of the wicked by the wicked is accounted for in the seed; hence, Cast out the bondwoman and her son (Galatians 4:30).

The third reason, which seems more in keeping with the Apostle’s intention, is that it is customary for a king to be called by his chief city or by his entire country, such as King of Jerusalem, King of the Romans, or King of France. Therefore, the Lord is properly called the King and God of those who are specifically looking toward that city, the heavenly Jerusalem, whose architect and founder is God. And because they showed by word and deed that they belong to that city, He is called their God; hence he says, for he has prepared for them a city.

Then, in verse 17, another famous example of Abraham’s faith is given, this one concerning God: namely, his supreme sacrifice when, at the Lord’s command, he was willing to immolate his only-begotten son (Genesis 22:1). Regarding this, he does three things: first, he shows what Abraham did; second, that this relates to faith (verse 17); and third, what he received for it (verse 19).

He says, therefore: By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, was ready to offer Isaac, as is clear from Genesis 22. But there are two questions here. First of all, killing an innocent person is against the law of nature and is, therefore, a sin. So, in being willing to offer him, did he sin? I answer that a person who kills at the command of a superior who is lawfully commanding, obeys lawfully and can lawfully carry out his duty. But God has power over life and death: The LORD kills and brings to life (1 Samuel 2:6). God does no injury when He takes the life even of the innocent. Hence, by God’s decree, many wicked and many innocent people die every day. Therefore, it is lawful to carry out God’s commands.

There is also a question about the statement, when he was tested. For God does not test in order to learn something, since to test implies ignorance. I answer that the devil tests in order to deceive: Lest perhaps he who tempts should have tempted you (1 Thessalonians 3:5). This is clear in the temptation of Christ (Matthew 4). But a man tests in order to learn. Thus, in 1 Kings 10:1 it is recorded that the queen of Sheba went to Solomon to test him with questions. But God does not test in that way, for He knows all things. Rather, He tests so that the person himself may learn how strong or weak he is: to afflict you and to test you, that the things that were in your heart might be made known (Deuteronomy 8:2). And 2 Chronicles 32:31 tells of Hezekiah being tested so that all things in his heart might be made known. Furthermore, God tests so that others may know the one tested and take him as an example, like Abraham and Job .

Then, when he says that Abraham was ready to offer up his only son, he subtly shows that this obedience relates to faith. For, as stated above, Abraham in his old age believed God’s promise that in Isaac his descendants would be blessed. He also believed that God could raise the dead. Therefore, when he was commanded to kill Isaac, there was no further hope of Sarah, who was now very old, having another child, since Isaac was already a young man. Therefore, since he believed that God’s commands must be obeyed, nothing remained but to believe that God would resurrect Isaac, through whom his descendants were to be named.

Hence, he says, his only son—that is, Sarah’s son—in whom, meaning in this only son, God was to fulfill His promise, as Genesis 18:19 indicates. Or, he was the only son among the free children: Take your only-begotten son, Isaac (Genesis 22:2). He who had received the promises, and of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your descendants be called, reasoned that God was able to raise people even from the dead. This, therefore, was the greatest proof of his faith, because the article of the resurrection is one of the most important doctrines.

Then, in verse 19, he shows what Abraham merited by faith. For, since nothing remained but to sacrifice him, an angel called to Abraham, and in place of his son, he sacrificed a ram caught by its horns. But this was a parable, that is, a figure of the Christ to come. For the ram caught by its horns in the thicket represents the humanity of Christ, which suffered, fixed to the cross. And so it is clear that the figure was not at all equal to the reality it prefigured. Therefore, he received him back—that is, Isaac—as a parable, meaning as a figure of Christ to be crucified and sacrificed.